My best friend, lover and enemy
by Isis-light
Summary: In a time where Sereitei is divided, two children, Rukia and Ichigo are taken and trained to be able to protect themselves. Little did they know that they'd end up having to protect themselves from each other. "I love you but... I can't let you live! It's my duty!" AU, slight romeo and juliet theme. Ichigo x Rukia
1. Chapter 1

**The rain soaked the earth, one drop at a time. The clear liquid with no shape quenched the earth's thirst and continued to give life to the plants that grew from the earth. Whilst between this process; swords clashed, blood tainted the water beneath them, creating a small puddle of crimson liquid around the leaves.**

**Both bent on one knee, they panted. Equally matched. Equally burdened.**

"**I don't want to kill you!" **

"**Neither do I."**

"**But I can't let you live either."**

"**Neither can I."**

**The roar of thunder and stoke of lightning signalled the battle to go on as both quickly rose to their feet, ignoring the pain emotionally and physically as once more their swords came to blows.**

...

"Put some back into it kids, you'll never get anywhere going that slow!" Their master Shinji Hirako commanded, swinging his legs from a branch on a tree watching over his pupils. Both Ichigo and Rukia trudged across a field in the heat, carrying a bag of rocks of their own approximate masses.

"Shut up!" his first student, Ichigo retorted with a bead of sweat trailing down his chin. The thirteen year old was noted for his fierceness and inept desire to prove how brave he was. Shinji smirked as he watched his second student, Rukia grow in anger, her short hair sticking to her face with sweat. The girl also of thirteen years was the calmer of the two, the thinker who often kept Ichigo in line.

"You're making noise!" She snapped at him, stepping on his toes angrily.

And then the bickering began.

Shinji stared up to the blue sky, not a single cloud could be seen drifting over the surface. It was a good day, though there was nothing good about the era they were in.

Sereitei was divided; a city that once lived in peace soon became a city where greed, power and revenge became the main goal in everyone's mind. And because of this, life upon life was lost. It all began seven years ago, during a meeting between the great clans of Sereitei, namely the Shihoin clan, Kurosaki, Kuchiki, Ukitake and other several clans that aided in governing Sereitei.

It was said that during one of these meeting, the leader of the Kurosaki clan made a direct insult towards the leader of the Kuchiki clan, undermining his capabilities, feeling humiliated the Kuchiki clan sent an assassin targeted to kill leader of the Kurosaki clan but instead he killed Lady Masaki Kurosaki, who was later found in a pool of her own blood.

In retaliation, the Kurosaki clan sent a spy to have Lady Hisana Kuchiki poisoned.

A wife for a wife.

From there, all hell broke loose.

Each clan sided with either the Kuchiki or Kurosaki clan and war waged among each other, the governing of Sereitei became unstable and people began fighting amongst themselves. Due to this disruption, no other empire would trade in with Sereitei so food shortages were expected; taxes were raised to steep rates.

Surviving wasn't a task for the faint hearted.

Even the masses began to side with the Kuchiki or Kurosaki clan, both sides laid on the table what they had to offer, be it food, better shelter or whatever was good enough to gain more people. Riots began and homes of people who didn't support their side were burnt to ash... sometimes the people within the homes were burnt alive.

"Barbarism." Shinji whispered to himself.

In one final attempt; The Black Mist: an expert samurai took it upon himself to bear the burden of trying to alleviate the problem as best he could. He sided with neither the Kuchiki nor Kurosaki and so he secretly entered both compounds, kidnapping the first children of each head.

Though he had anticipated that in doing this, both parties would turn an eye towards another danger and join forces to find their kin but instead it aggravated the clans and allowed the destructive flames to burn with even more ferocity. Both clans blamed the other, claiming murder and that blood should be drawn.

"All because of women." Shinji groaned.

"Hey Master! We're done!" Shinji hadn't noticed the children gathered around him, pulling down at his robes. Rukia's bright violet eyes and dark hair contrasted Ichigo's bright orange hair and hazel eyes.

"Fine, fine, let's go eat."

A childish cheer escaped their lips as they circled him as he walked, in their failing attempt to make him dizzy. Shinji smacked the both of them at the back of their head before they bolted ahead of him, laughing after a long day of training. It was pleasant to see that despite the darkness... there was some light.

...

When both children had reached sixteen of age, Shinji had turned his pupils into moderate fighters, not the best; there was a long way to go before they could be anything to his level.

"Rukia, your punches are weak, tighten your fist!" Shinji shouted, watching as she lifted her leg to kick Ichigo who blocked with his elbow and raised a fist to counter. Rukia dodged, propelling herself five centimetres above the ground to raise her leg once more to kick him.

"Ichigo, if you're always in defence, you'll never win!"

Exhaling in frustration, Ichigo caught Rukia's leg, he dropped her on her back, she hit the ground with a thud whilst Ichigo hovered above her, pinning her down. He smirked smugly, showing off.

"You're down." He smirked.

Rukia smiled with a tilt of her head before kicking him in the chest, using his own force against him, she flipped him so she was above him. Smirking in the exact same way she mocked him. "Well look who's down now."

"Let me up." He growled in defeat as Rukia stepped aside to aid him in standing.

Smirking, Ichigo decided to enact his revenge; he pushed Rukia into the lake just beside them. Fighting to the end, Rukia grabbed Ichigo's shirt, dragging him down with her. A loud splash sounded whilst Shinji sighed.

"Yep, those are my pupils."

Emerging from the water, Rukia's clothes and hair stuck to her closely. Following close after her, Ichigo popped from the beneath the water. He grinned up at Rukia who smiled back but just as quickly her smile was gone as she shoved him back into the water.

When he emerged once more, the bickering began. Watching as Rukia playfully tried to drown Ichigo.

Shinji smirked.

It was pleasant to see some light in this darkness.

But this serenity was not going to last too long...


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, grab that apple!" Ichigo instructed Rukia who was pulling out fruit from the tree, pointing to another apple. Her body outstretching towards the neighbouring apples, grabbing each one and tossing it to Ichigo who stood beneath her. Wobbling as the pale girl attempted to gain her balance, she stood on the large branch, reaching for the apple Ichigo had requested.

"I can't reach it."

"You're useless," he groaned, in retaliation, Rukia picked an unripe apple and threw it at him.

"Then you come up here and get it yourself!"

Smirking up at her, Ichigo's bright eyes shone up to the girl. Picking the same unripe apple that she had previously flung at him, he measured the distance with his eyes and with one fling, shot the unripe apple at his desired item, he moved to the falling apple, catching it with delight.

Taking one bite from it, Ichigo smirked; Rukia scowled.

"Anyone can do that." She muttered whilst reaching for another apple. "What did master say about dinner?"

"What?" Ichigo sat beneath the tree, munching at the fruit in his hands. Today was a little warmer than usual, almost an unsettling warmth.

"WHAT DID MASTER SAY ABOUT DINNER?!" Rukia shouted irritably.

"He said something about us going into the village to get some rice- oh would you look at that-" Ichigo dug into his shirt, lifting his head up to Rukia, who now sat on the branch above him. "Master gave me some coins to buy the rice with, a little much if you ask me."

"Let's go." Rukia leapt off and onto the ground. Offering a hand to help Ichigo to his feet, the taller smirked, reaching for her hand only to pull her down beside him. "Ichigo!"

"Why rush? The day itself seems to be dragging, so why shouldn't we?" He replied through closed eyes as he enjoyed the breeze of the day, brushing through the leaves of grass in a similar the wind raked through his hair.

...

"Five silver coins for a bag that small?!" Rukia leaned over the counter to the shop owner, her eyes widened in shock.

"Take it or leave it, young man."

Rukia's eye twitched as she fixed the straw hat on her head, Ichigo wasn't surprised by the store owner calling her a man. She did dress in men's garb; though it did astound him that nobody in the village could tell she was a woman.

I mean the face, small hands and short physique just gave it away.

Then again, her flat chest-

"Hey, do you smell that?" Ichigo muttered to Rukia.

"Okay, mister," Rukia clasped her hands in prayer like fashion, "Three silver coins, I'm begging you."

"No way, five silver and that's it."

Ichigo perked his ears and soon his brows furrowed. "Rukia, do you hear that?"

Gritting her teeth, she leaned closer to the store owner. "Well fine! I can buy from anyone else anyway!"

"Oh really, boy? Well then why don't you?" the store owner fired back.

Leaning back, Ichigo wondered why people were shouting, also, why smoke was rising in the distance. Perhaps a festival?

Not possible, there wasn't anything coming up this month.

"Rukia." Ichigo muttered concernedly, unconsciously reaching for her forearm, "We should get going, forget the rice."

"Listen here mister, you're taking advantage of the people who buy from you, and this is too much for one bag!"

Ichigo then noticed a sudden bright orange light in the distance, the scent of smoke worsened, the screams grew louder. The store owner noticed as well, which explained why he was quick to shove Rukia away and run into his home, claiming he was closed... indefinitely.

"Hey!" she shouted but the man had already disappeared.

Swarms of people came running in their direction, tripping over one another in their escape, some with ripped clothing, others burnt. Ichigo noticed a mother carrying her child, tears running down the woman's face as she ran, her one arm supporting the baby appeared red as though burnt, the baby in her arms screeched for dear life.

"Rukia, let's go." Ichigo said, lifting her from the ground, he grabbed her hand and ran.

"What are we running from?"

"We'll ask questions later." Ichigo answered, taking one glance at the rising flames that travelled from one home to another, flaming torches were thrown onto distant houses by civilians.

Rukia had pulled her hand from Ichigo's hold; he didn't seem to notice as he directed them away. The soles of her feet burned, considering how fast she had to run to simply keep up with Ichigo and even then she was five steps behind him.

In her blind chase Rukia accidentally bumped against Ichigo's stone back, "What's going on?"

"Whose side are you two kids on?" A rough, voice questioned, Rukia peeked beside Ichigo, to see three men, two of whom stood with flaming torches and the middle one had a metallic rod, blood dripped from the tip of the rod.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo stepped back, forcing Rukia back too; he pushed her further behind him.

"Are you Kurosaki-?" Ichigo furrowed his brows, that word- familiar, somehow. "-Or are you... Kuchiki?" Rukia twitched slightly.

"-Be careful, choose you words wisely." The middle one smirked evilly, taking a step towards them as he placed the blood drenched tip of the rod to his hand and tapped it against his skin to intimidate them.

"What does it matter?" Ichigo gulped, sounding slightly apprehensive. A bead of sweat traced down his chin.

"I see..." the middle man mused with a smirk, he then lifted a dangerous glare towards them. "You're Kuchiki aren't you?! Well then, I guess I have to get rid of the garbage, now don't I?"

Raising the rod at them, he charged, tackling Ichigo to the ground. Both males scuffled on the dust; Rukia turned her attention to the two men who seemed to be approaching dangerously towards her.

"Run!" Ichigo called out, dodging a fist from his opponent, he kicked the man off him.

"So, little boy, how would you like to get a little warmed up?" One of the men joked, taking another step closer to her whilst she stepped back, the torch waved dangerously. He charged at her, instinctively Rukia side stepped him and kicked the back of his head, launching him into the wooden house behind them.

The sound of broken wood reached Ichigo, who kicked the man off him and punched him in the face once before turning his attention to Rukia, he was about to step towards her when his challenger grabbed his shirt sleeve, ripping the cloth covering his right arm off.

"Wait-!" the man shouted to the other two who came close to attacking Rukia. Ichigo furrowed his brow at the man, ripping his arm from his grip; Ichigo was about to kick the scar faced man in the face when he was surprised by the man's sudden change.

Kneeling with his head bowed close to the ground with palms on the ground the man held submission, "Forgive us, lord Kurosaki."

"What?!" The other two questioned.

"Show your respects to the long lost son of lord Isshin!" He chastised, Ichigo turned his attention to Rukia who appeared just as confused as he was. "Forgive them, milord, we have waited long for you arrival. Everyone had thought you dead; come with us, your father will be pleased."

"One minute you're attacking us and next you're on your hands and knees..." Ichigo mused to himself, "You must have the wrong person, I'm not-"

"You bear the crest on your arm. The Kurosaki crest." The man explained, Ichigo looked down to the tattoo of a black sword the man spoke of and laughed.

"This? I've had it ever since I was- a- kid-" the smile on Ichigo's face slowly began to disappear. "Since I was a kid?"

"It was given to you when you were three months old, only the first born heir to the Kurosaki have that tattoo." The man continued, outstretching a hand, "Please, come with us."

Stepping back, Ichigo furrowed his brows. He ran to Rukia, grabbing her hand once more and running with her. His dark haired companion couldn't help but glance back once more as Ichigo continued to run straight ahead, to their home. The choking smoke didn't seem to bother Ichigo as he dragged her behind him.

"Ichigo?" she called, he responded with a simple glance back but said nothing. Rukia knew it best not question further.

...

"Master Shinji?!" Ichigo swung doors open, he hadn't taken off his shoes before entering, signalling his emergency, he slammed door after door, calling after their teacher.

"He's gone." Rukia's calm voice sounded as she traced her finger over a table, stopping the panting man in front of her.

The shouts of angry people continued to come closer and closer, the village was burning and now they wanted to burn everything around the village too? What would normally have appeared beautiful; the red orange lights that burned but now it seemed like just the light of death shining over the village.

"We have to go." Rukia said calmly. "Now Ichigo."

This time it was Rukia who grabbed his arm, pulling him to the back, where they could escape into the forest and travel through the night into the next village that wasn't too far away.

"Sensei?"

"He'll find a way, he taught us after all." Rukia responded, leading them.

...

"What is this?"

"Its barbaric, that's what it is," Shinji responded, watching down from the top of an old building. "This has got to stop sooner or later."

"What of the boy and girl?"

"They'll be fine, Kensei." Shinji sighed as the screams of people grew louder, "They have to be, we need them."

The blond shielded his eyes from view; sword at his side, he turned around, walking away into the dark. His white haired partner unfolded his arms, letting them fall beside him, with a sigh he too walked away.

...

Panting for breath but still running as fast as their feet could carry them, Rukia and Ichigo took turns leading one another through the semi dark forest that was only illuminated by the light of the burning village.

"What- is- happening?"

"I- don't- know."

And just like that, the peace they had come to know had come to an end...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Leaves rustled with the slow movement as Rukia turned over in her sleep, groaning softly. Her hand reached across her to feel for Ichigo, though she was quickly alerted to the emptiness beside her. Suddenly revealing her eyes, she bolted upright.

"Ichigo?"She called out, rubbing her upper arms at the sudden chill, never minding her misshapen hair. She lifted herself; inhaling the morning scent, her eyes searched through the fog. Picking the shirt Ichigo had covered her with and found footprints engraved on the earth beneath her. She followed the footprints further into the woods, warily calling on Ichigo.

The prints led her through to a river, she tiredly rubbed at her eyes and once finished, dropped the shirt on the dry ground and dipped her toes into the water. The chill surged through her body and she whipped her foot back with a hiss. Pulling back, she knelt on the rough ground, where the crackling of leaves sounded, she dipped her hands into the clear liquid, scooping as much as she could and washed her face.

She dipped her hands once more and was about to rinse her face once more when she paused a moment to recall the nights events, where were they to go from here? How was sensei? Where was sensei?

A firm hand wrapped over her shoulder, drawing Rukia from her thoughts; with a feint gasp, she pulled away from the hand.

"Relax, it's me." The soft sound of her trusted friend, Ichigo soothed her. He wore none but his light pants and carrying his shoes in his other hand. Despite the chill of morning, he behaved as though he felt nothing, as he proceeded to help Rukia to her feet.

"You'll catch a cold; put your shirt back on." She tossed his shirt into his arms. He smirked before tugging the shirt over his body, Rukia took notice of his abs shifted as the clothing slipped over his bare chest. He shook his hair back into place before their eyes locked once again.

"We should head into the village not far from here, there has to be somewhere we'll be able to take cover before midday, the day will remain overcast and it might possibly rain in between so the sooner we find cover, the better." Ichigo glanced around trying to figure out which direction to take.

"We need to get food first." Rukia muttered and Ichigo smirked.

"While you were sleeping, I went fishing a while and caught us something. It's better than nothing if you ask me." He said, turning his back on her to walk ahead, Rukia followed behind him with once last glance around the vicinity. She sat on the ground as Ichigo started a flame where they would cook the fish over.

She didn't question how he had managed to gut the fish and what he used as a knife considering she was starving. They sat silently as the crackling flame prepared the fish for them.

Rukia lifted her gaze to Ichigo, watching as the flames danced within his honey brown eyes, the reddish orange that blended fiercely with his brown gaze. He lifted himself to turn the fish around and soon a warm and inviting aroma filled Rukia's nose. Reminding her of how hungry she was, she couldn't wait to dig in and eat.

Picking at the well prepared fish, Ichigo carefully handing it to Rukia, explaining that he'd wait for his to prepare and also reminding her to be careful since it was hot. Rukia thankfully delved into the fish, drawing the stick that the fish was wrapped around to her lips and taking a bite, Rukia chewed over the crunchy outer with a cringed expression on her face.

"It's like grinding stones." Rukia commented as she swallowed, reluctant to take another bite but figured she couldn't be picky. Ichigo pulled his stick form the flame and blew on it a few seconds before taking one rough bite. He chewed effortlessly on it, grinding as though he wasn't fazed by the hard crunching sound.

Rukia bit down once again, this time the softer texture felt gentle on her teeth and actually tasted good, would've been better with a little salt. She swallowed and bit into the hard exterior again, ignoring it as she chewed and swallowed. By the time she had gotten the hand of it, Ichigo was already finished, and tossed the stick into the flame.

Quickly placing the rest into her mouth, she half regretted her action as she had to chew really hard. Ichigo waited a while before putting out the fire; he covered it with some soil to try hold off the amount of smoke rising from it.

He raised a gaze to Rukia then smirked in his usual manner.

...

Since dawn, the sun had hidden behind the greyish white clouds that sheathed the sky, they had experienced light drizzle through their walk but it hadn't poured... yet. Pressing one foot in front of the other seemed to be wasted energy as they trudged along hoping that they were going the right way.

Rukia felt a drop hit the top of her head, raising her head to the sky she noticed the clouds shift more fervently and one by one, more drops hit her face. Ichigo paused in his footing, he too lifted his head to the sky and scowled, he reached for Rukia's wrist and began pulling her behind him faster and before she knew it, she was running behind him. Navigating his way more urgently than before.

Her dark hair slowly dampening as his bright orange mane glistened with the small drops.

He muttered something beneath his breath along the lines of; 'they should have picked up pace a while ago' and 'they couldn't get caught in the rain overnight without shelter.' It was midst this muttering that Ichigo hadn't bothered to look in which direction he was pulling them and without a moment's hesitation had them tumbling down a grassy and wet slope.

"That was interesting..." Ichigo muttered, picking himself up. Rukia casted him a dangerously piercing glare, as she rubbed the little soil from her face.

"If I wasn't tired, I'd kick you."

Rukia took a moment to glance at the village from afar; small, quiet and the type of village where everyone knew everyone else. She and Ichigo had never stayed within the village but rather close to it. Pressing her hand into her shirt she found the coins her sensei had given them for food and pleaded internally that it be enough just to get them someplace to stay a few nights.

Rukia found the next droplets to beat down on them sharply, painfully stinging them. Ichigo guided them hurriedly into the village where people began to scramble into their homes and by that time, both of them were drenched.

A passerby had been kind enough to point them in the direction of an inn in the area before scurrying off with his child at his side.

Shivering into the dingy looking inn, both Ichigo and Rukia took off her shoes at the door. Ichigo grabbed the pocket with coins from her and moved to the old man at the counter with a pipe dangling from his lips as he read a paper. Rukia soon followed behind him.

"We need a room for a few days."

The man drew away from his paper and turned his attention to Ichigo, he glanced over our wet forms sceptically. He eyed Ichigo for a moment before turning his attention back to the paper at hand. "Five silver coins." He muttered between puffs.

A spark in Rukia's eyes ignited. "Five silver-!"

"-We'll take it." Ichigo concealed her lips with his cold, wet fingers and grinned at the old man as he handed the coins. Lifting himself from his seat, the man led both of them into their room, pushing the door open, he blew out smoke.

"Leave your clothes on the corridor and they'll be taken care of. Use the bathhouse and towels are on the seat there." He told us briefly before leaving down the corridor.

...

Wrapped with a towel and bed cover, backs turned to one another, Ichigo breathed quietly as the rain pounded overhead. Thunder sounded in the distance as the wind whistled silently. Ichigo always fell asleep faster than she did so she wasn't surprised that the moment he had hit the bed, he was out like a light.

Between the sound of rain and thunder, his soft breaths rhythmically attempted to lured her into sleep. Rukia recalled the nights before, the nights where they usually spoke about anything and everything, telling each other stories or jokes but this night there was silence.

She waited a few moments, figuring Ichigo was asleep, Rukia rolled onto her other side turning to face him.

Ichigo was awake, staring up at the ceiling with little emotion on his face as he blinked; his firm chest calmly rose and fell repeatedly. She hadn't heard him shift.

"Get some sleep." He cocked his head to her with a smirk.

...

By the second day, both Ichigo and Rukia had decided to continue on their way. Not entirely sure where they were going but they had to move. They thanked the old man for his hospitality, if you could call it that.

The day was lovely and the sun shone brightly, the earth had dried somewhat since the rains and so they walked through the streets.

Some passersby stared at them strangely whilst others took to ignoring them; some stared then whispered amongst themselves.

They had barely been into walking an hour before the rough sound of galloping horses travelling in the distance reached their ears. Rukia watched as two black stallions charged past them, she caught a glimpse of one person on the horse.

"Woah!" the person jerked on the reigns, bringing the horse to an abrupt stop and the man drew back in their direction. Rukia inwardly damned herself for making eye contact with the him, she casted her head down as Ichigo pretended not to notice anything. They trotted over to them, circling around them.

Ichigo lifted his gaze to one man, "Is something the matter?"

The man had a tattoo '69' along his cheek, and had a dangerous disposition and beside him was a blonde with one half of his face shielded by his hair, he held a passive expression on his face, and both were dressed in seemingly expensive knightly clothing. Perhaps they held a high rank of sorts.

"Name yourselves and your business here?" The one with the tattoo instructed, glaring intently at Ichigo.

"We're travellers passing by." Ichigo answered with a defiant glint in his eyes. The man scowled before jumping off the horse and moving towards Ichigo. The man marched daringly up to Ichigo that they were at eye level with one another, the man drew out a dagger and cut at the material of the arm of Ichigo's shirt. Ichigo growled considering that it was the second time someone has torn up the only arm of his shirt left.

The man stared at Ichigo's tattoo and Rukia watched as his pupils dilated, the blond on the horse stared intently at Ichigo as well.

"I thought that old man was delusional." The blond muttered.

"There's no way of knowing whether it's real or not." The darker one countered.

"Lord Kurosaki would know."

Ichigo scowled before pushing past them, muttering an insult for tearing his shirt, he grabbed Rukia's wrist and began pulling her behind him. Though they were midst step when Ichigo heard a sudden movement, he jerked towards it.

Too late.

Someone had struck both of them from behind, they hadn't realized the moment they collapsed onto the ground all that remained was nothing as they swam into unconsciousness.

...

Blinking repeatedly, Ichigo regretted having woken up considering he awoke with a killer head ache. Rubbing at his temples, Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut upon realising that the sun was beginning to set. His next thoughts shifted to Rukia... then to his area.

"You're awake." A deep voice called out and Ichigo lifted his gaze to a man with dark hair, stubble on his face and appeared his senior by a few years, he approached Ichigo. The man also dressed in luxurious clothing and sank beside Ichigo. He drew Ichigo into his embrace, pulling him tightly.

"Welcome home... my son."


End file.
